Scars
by STEVERANDLE'STWIN
Summary: Some scars are hidden, some are seen. Some scars are small and others are large. Some are inside and some are outside, waiting to be discovered.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own The Outsiders. They rightfully belong to S.E. Hinton. I only own this idea.

"Come on, Soda! You almost have him!", hollered Steve as he clapped Sodapop on the back. He and Darry were arm wrestling on the kitchen table. Their arms hadn't moved more than at least 2 inches since they started. First it was Ponyboy and Two-Bit, the wise cracking teen of the two won that match. But Ponyboy got him on the rematch, making sure that Two-Bit knew exactly who won by walking around him in circles chanting "I won!". Then it was Two-Bit and Steve, they were cussing each other to the bone as they tried to pin the others hand down. Steve took charge and won that match, leaving a cussing and confused Two-Bit at the table.

Now they were all crowded around the table watching as the two eldest Curtis brothers got it out in a match against each other. "Damn, Soda. If you grip any tighter you're going to break my fingers.", hissed out Darry between clenched teeth, as he matched Soda for strength. "Not my fault we're not getting anywhere with this. Don't you have a weak spot?", panted Sodapop as he tried to put more leverage behind his push. "You wish.", he ground out as he tensed his shoulder and moved Soda's hand closer to the table, that's when the sleeve of his long sleeve shirt slid down his right wrist a bit. Two-Bit yelped at the sight in front of him, seeing the rows of dark scars on Darry's exposed wrist.

Forgetting the fact that they're arm wrestling, Darry turned his head towards his best friend and let his arm relax. "You alright, Two-Bit?", he asked him, with general concern in his voice. Before he had a chance to respond to him, Soda was out of his seat shouting in victory. Darry turned his head back to his younger brother and saw that he relaxed his arm just enough to let him pin it to the table. "I'll get you in the rematch, kiddo.", he said to him as he watched him dance around the kitchen with Steve. Ponyboy was doubled over in a fit of laughter at his brother's antics, his eyes shut tightly with a smile on his face. "Breathe, Pony. You got lungs for a reason.", said Darry as he held back his own fit of laughter. Ponyboy loudly sucked in a breath before he continued his doubled over laughing.

Two-Bit never took his eyes off of the older boy's wrist, only for a brief moment to lock eyes with him, before returning his eyes to the scared wrist. Darry whispered a curse under his breath and slid his sleeve back down until it completely covered the scars and his entire wrist. He looked at him with a look in his eyes that said, "Please, don't tell.". Those blue-gray eyes were silently begging him not to say a word about it to anybody else. Those eyes never once looked so vulnerable, not even when the Curtis brother's lost their beloved parents. Now, those eyes couldn't have looked more vulnerable than when he realized somebody had discovered his darkest secret. Darry almost jumped when a hand came down on his shoulder and a voice whispered in his ear. "Lets go for a walk, Dar.", whispered Two-Bit as he grabbed a handful of the older boy's shirt and almost hauled him out of the chair.

"We'll be back.", called out Darry as he and Two-Bit made their way out the front door and down the porch steps. Nobody made a move to stop them since Steve and Ponyboy were now arm wrestling and Sodapop didn't know who to cheer for, so he stood their with his arms crossed and a confused look on his face. Once the door was closed behind them, Two-Bit made his way down the road giving Darry no choice but to follow. "Will you tell me where we're going?", asked Darry as he followed the smaller teen down the road. "Somewhere you'll be comfortable to talk. Cause you have a lot of explaining to do.", said Two-Bit as he led him down the roads until they reached the football field of the High School.

They both made their way up over the gate that encircled it and up into the bleachers, sitting down in the middle of them. Out of habit Darry began to trace his thumb over the scars that were covered by the sleeve of his shirt, making sure not to break open the ones that were only a few weeks old. The scars of the older ones were slightly raised up from how deep the blade had traveled into his skin. It sliced through skin and then soon through veins that let free the scarlet liquid, followed by the pain that he needed to feel the most. "What exactly do you want to hear, Two-Bit?", asked Darry as he nervously crossed and then uncrossed his arms. "Why? I mean, how could you do that? Purposefully do that to yourself?", asked Two-Bit as his voice slowly rose with each word that left his usually joking mouth. _This is going to be harder than I thought. _


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own the Outsiders. They belong to S.E. Hinton. I only own this idea.

_It sure as hell wasn't that hard. _"Two-Bit, calm down. Take a breath.", said Darry as he watched his best friend's body get tenser and tenser as time went on. "How am I supposed to relax when I know that you're cutting yourself?", hissed out Two-Bit as he glared over at the older teen. Darry matched the glare with one of his own, his jaw clenched with the muscles shifting beneath the skin. "Talk. Now.", ordered Two-Bit as he struggled to collect himself. "Its not exactly easy to explain, Two-Bit. I started when I was 16 and it went downhill from there. First it was just the scratch of a nail or a needle of a pin, then it grew to using blades out of razors or using a lighter. I would always think maybe after this one I'll stop but I never did.", explained Darry as he looked down at the bleachers.

"Keep going.", coaxed Two-Bit lowly, as he tried to understand what was being said to him. Darry took a slow and deep breath before starting to speak again. "When Mom and Dad died it just got worse, I'd do it almost every night and chance that I could. After a fight with Ponyboy I'd go to the razor knowing that somehow I'd managed to screw up again. I turned to the pain for help and comfort, it would numb everything that I ever felt. Now I look for the pain to feel anything at all. You all thought I was at the top of the food chain in High School, but I was at the bottom since I'm a Greaser. I had the muscle to fend off in a fight and keep Sodapop and Ponyboy safe in school and in fights, using my rep to keep them safe on the streets. If they got hurt it was on me, and I couldn't handle all of that. I'm still trying to figure out how to handle all of it now. The pain gets my head back on straight,", he explained to his best friend, letting what he held back for years finally come out.

Two-Bit's expression instantly softened as he took in just what his friend was letting out to him in complete confidence. "Darry, your parents death isn't your fault. It's not anybody's, like you tell Ponyboy, God needed some new angels and thought your parents were best for the job. Its not your fault. When you fight with him its because you have more on your shoulders than you're used to. You're only 20 and you're still a kid yourself trying to take care of your two little brothers. The gang will always back you up with them when you need the help, we're there everyday with you. I'm sorry that you had to face everything that you went through without knowing what to do in return. You're doing a great job at bringing Sodapop and Ponyboy up, they have clothes on their backs and a roof over their heads and food on the table. When you feel like you're being buried by it all you can always come to one of us. We'll always be there with open arms, just like you are for us. Hell, you've helped me when I was too drunk to remember my own name. You help Steve when his Dad kicks him out and you helped Johnny too. You don't need to be afraid to ask one of us for help, its about time that we start to reciprocate it. You dig?", asked Two-Bit as he finished himself off.

Darry gave a trusting smile over to the blonde headed teen, who was watching him with wide concerned eyes. "I dig, Two-Bit. I get it.", replied Darry as he forced himself to stop thumbing over the scars and recent cuts. Two-Bit's eyes once again looked down at his friend's wrists, silently asking for permission to a question he didn't know how to ask. The older teen seemed to understand what he wanted, so he rolled the sleeves of his shirt up and flipped his arms over, to reveal the many rows of scars. Some going in line after line, some dark and some light, some raised and some sunken in, some looked a few weeks old and others looked a few days old.

"How recent are these ones?", asked Two-Bit as he traced his finger tips over the ones that overlapped. "Those are 2 days old. Brought on by repeating thoughts in my head. I constantly repeat a saying that Dad taught me when I was little, 'I dont want to be the one that battles always choose'. Yet battles seem to choose and find me no matter how hard I try to avoid them.", explained Darry as he too traced over them again. "Doesn't doing that hurt, though?", asked the smaller teen, who was now curious rather than afraid. "Yeah, it hurts, like hell. It feels like you're getting sliced in a knife fight over and over. But after the first few the pain isn't as bad as the first.", said Darry as he rolled his sleeves down again.

"Promise me that if you ever feel like hurting yourself again, that you'll come talk to me instead. I may not give the best advice but I'll always lend an ear to listen.", said Two-Bit as he and Darry stood up from their position on the bleachers. "That might be easier said than done but I give you my promise. I give you my word.", replied Darry as they walked down the bleachers. "You better keep it, too, Superman. Come on, we better get back to your place before the guys think I kidnapped you.", said Two-Bit as they jumped the last three bleachers and landed on their feet on the field. "You basically did. Race ya'.", said Darry as he took off across the field and out of the fence. "No fair! You got a head start!", screamed Two-Bit as he took off after him. 


End file.
